Watebtowit



Feb. 20, 1923. 1,446,412

H. F. BICKEL ET AL LUBRICATOR Filed Oct. 27, 192.1

Patented Feb. 20, 1923.

- ,UNiTEDlsTA Es" PATENT. OFFICE-17",

HENRY 11 ,BIGKEL, onrmilnrlnnnivnw JERSEY, Ann BLYTHELMINNIER, or

1 WATERTOWN, NEW Yonx, I

' s L BRitcA'roR;

' Aiiplication'filed October 27, 1921. Serial No. 510,801,

To all whom a, may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRYFJBI OKEL and BLYTHE J L 'MINNiER, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Plainfield, in the countyof Union and State of New Jersey, and at l/Vatertown, in the county of Jefferson and; State of New York,

have invented certain newand useful Im provements 1n Lubricators, ol' whic'h the following is a specification;

"This 'nvention relates to cylinder lubrication and provides a device having particu lar utility when used forlubricating the cylinders of'aircompresso'rs s'ubject-fto wide variations of discharge pressure and often per'ature. 'llRsed-ifficult conditions are met in; the 'compressorsused as a part of railway air brake systems aswell as inma-ny other importantlields. i

The most important advantages ofi tl'ief in vention are the absence ofmoving parts, the inherent characteristic oi varying the oil feed automatically according to the work being done by the compressor, and total automatic suspension of the oil feeding func tion when the compressor is shut down Further refinements reside in'details which permit ready access to parts for cleaning and inspection, minimize any tendency for clogging to occur, and preclude over-filling ,With oil.

Stated in its broadest terms the oil feed-.

ing operation depends upon the surging of compressed air back and forth-through two passages between the compressor cylinder, and a closed oil containing cup when the compressor is operating. The main passage leads directly from the compressor to the air space above the oil, but a branch orbya pass leads from the main passage at a point above the level of the oil and opens into the on at a point below thelevel ot tlie oil. The by-pass is so proportionedrelatively to the main passage that it functions to injecta small quantity of oil into the main -passage each time the airflows in said -p'assa'ge toward the compressor.' "The quantity so injected increases as the intensity of the air surges increases, thus giving a graduated feed. The injection of the oil-into a moving current of air is availed ofto secure atomization of the oil, and the ports are specially located to enhance this eflect; This special location of the ports is also an important factor in securing the graduated oll feed abovementione'd. j A practical embodiment of the invention 1S illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in 'Which:- v

Figure l is a vertical axial section of the completedevicei' Fig-"24s a section on the line 2*2 of Fig. 1. 1

Fig.3 is a viewof a compound air com-- pi'essor with two lu-bricators applied, one foreach'air cylinderfi "'Thebody of the device forms the oil reservolr and consists of a hollow shell 6 and a ported member 7: The arrangement shown, in which the shell 6 is circular, and is cast integrally'with a central ported member 7, is preferred because of-e'aseof manufacture, but other i arrangements are obviously possible' and may be preferable in particular case's. *Wh'ateve'r' the ,form, it is desirable to incline the bottom of shell 6 away from member'i-asshown at 8 so that any sediment which maybe carried by the oil'will be 'deposited at'points remote from member 7 in which the oil feeding port is formed.

The'member 7 is formed with a main air passage 9 which communicates with the interior of shell 6 by a port 10 slightly smaller I thanpassage 9. hisis located near the top of shell 6, and above the highest-oil level that may exist in; shell 61 At its lower end the passage 9 is enlarged and internally threaded as indicated at 11 to receive api-pe connection to the air cylinder. I -Directly opposite port 10 is 'a port 12 slightly smaller than port 10. This port is connected by a vertical passage 13 ofapproximately the same diameter with a relatively minute-port 14 opening into'shell 6 near the bottom thereof. This port l l'is the oil port referred to above and its height markssthe lowest level from which oil can befed from the lubricator. i

These ports are formed 'by the familiar I practice of drilling and plugging as is clearlyindicated in the drawing The plug 15' opposite port 14; is large and is threaded so as to be removable. This permits port 14 and the interior of shell 6 to be cleaned readily. i

The oil-filling port 16 is closed by a threaded plug 17 which seals the opening by means Of a gasket 18. The port 16 is located below the top of shell 6 so that air is always trapped in the top of shell and overfilling is precluded.

The lubrioa'tor may be mounted in any convenient manner, but it is preferred to provide a boss 19 through which passage 9 extends, and to thread this boss externally as shown at 20. The boss 19 thenscrews into a lubricator bracket 21 and 'islocked by a check nut 22.

A. fitting 25 is screwed into the threads 11 and together with a pipe23connects the passage 9 with a port 24 leading through the head of theair cylinder to be lubricated. In Fig. 3 two lubricators are shown each connected'to the workingv space of the corresponding compression cylinder of a cross compound compressor. Thus the passage 9 of each lubricator is subject to the pressure fluctuations in one working space of the corresponding air cylinder, and in the case of a cross compound compressor these pressure fluctuations are different in the two cylinders.

Assuming that the lubricators are connected as shown in Fig. 3,.and that they each contain a suitable quantity of oil, their operationwill be readily understood.

Low pressure air cylinder.-On the compression stroke of the piston, air flows to the interior- 0f shell 6, so that at the end of such stroke substantially the pressure of discharge e. the intermediate pressure of the compressor) will exist within shell 6. So soon as the suction stroke starts pressure in the working space of the compressor will drop almost instantly below atmospheric pressure and the pressure in shell 6 will cause a sudden blast of air through port 10 and passage 9, which because of the restricted size of port 10 willcontinue for an ape preciable time. During the continuance of such blast a small jet of oil will be projected through port 14:, passage 13 and port 12. This oil meeting the air current entering port lOwill be atomized and carried by the i int the y ind High pressure air cg Znder.The action here is similar to that in the low pressure cylinder enceptgthat the limiting pressures are different. At the end of the compression stroke substantially the pressure of discharge from the pump will exist within shell 6. When the suction strokeof the high pressure piston starts theipressure in the working space is subject to a sudden drop the low pressure limit being determined by the dimensions and relative timing of the two cylinders. The effect of fluctuating pressure in the working space and the connected lubricator is the same as before described with reference to the low pressure air cylinder.

the compressor.

Obviously the lubricator is applicable in the same manner to single stagecoinpressors its action being merely dependent on the pressure fluctuations in the working space of the compressor.

The opposed relation of ports 10 and 12 has an important effect on the regulative function by which a graduated feed of oil is given according to the work being done by It has been found that the size of port 14 does not alone control the regulative action but that the opposed relationof the ports 10 and 12 is largely responsible for the graduated feed.

The opposed relation of ports 10 and 12 is also essential to the securing of the best atomizing effect, and thorough atomization of the oil is important factor in successful lubrication. A marked advantage is that the oil so atomized is carried directly to the cylinder by an air current flowing at high velocity at the moment of atomization. This prevents settling of the atomized oil out of the aircurrent.

The relative sizes of the ports and passages have already been stated enerally, and except as generally limited in the claims are subject to variation to secure the desired rate of feed.v The size of port 14 has a direct regulative effect, but if varied widely will require co-ordinated variations inother ports and passages.

Such dimensions depend on various conditions more or less characteristic of the particular instailation, but in order to disclose fully one successful embodiment the following port and passage dimensions, which give peculiarly good results with an 83 inch air brake compressor, working against a normal reservoir pressure of 132 pounds per square inch, are given. The numbers refer to reference numerals on the drawing and the dimensions are diameters in inches.

Passage9 0.1875 Port 10 O. 1&4 Port 12 0.1285 Pass g 2 Port 14 0.031

These dimensions as well as other details of the form of the device are subject to considerable variation to meet the requirements of the particular cases.

What is claimed is:

1. EL lubricator for compressors of the reciprocating type, comprising in combination a closed shell adapted to contain oil and a confined body of air. said shell being provided with two ports, one an air port leading to the confined air space and the other a restricted oil port leading to the oil space. through which the flow of oil from the shell is opposed by gra ity; and means for connecting said ports with the working space of a compressor.

2. A lubricator for compressors of the reciprocating type comprising in combination a closed shell adapted to contain oil and a confined body of air said shell being provided with a passage and two ports opposed to each other at their junctions with said passage at point above the level of oil in said shell one of said ports connecting said passage with the space within said shell above said oil, and the other of said ports being in restricted communication with the interior of said shell below the surface of said oil; and means for connecting said passage with the working space of a compressor.

8. A lubricator for compressors of the re-' ciprocating type comprising in combination a closed shell adapted to contain oil and a confined body of air, said shell being provided with a passage and two ports opposed to each other at their junctions with said passage, at a point above the level of oil in said shell, one of said ports connecting said passage with the space within said shell above said oil, and the other of said ports being smaller, and being connected by a second passage with a still smaller port leading to the interior of said shell below the level of oil therein; and means for connecting the first named passage with the working space or a compressor.

4;. The combination of a closed shell adapt ed to be partially filled with oil and affording an air space above said oil; an air compressor of the reciprocating type; a constantly open connection between said air space and a working space of said compressor; and a more restricted constantly open connection between the first-named connectlon and the interior of said shell below the level of the contained oil.

5. The combination of a closed shell adapted to be partially filled with oil and affording an air space above said oil; an air compressor of the reciprocating type; a constantly open connection between said air space and a working space of said compressor; and a more restricted constantly open connection leading from the interior of said shellbelow the level of the contained oil to said first named connection above the level of said oil.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

HENRY F. BIGKEL.

BLYTHE J. MINNIER. 

